Mr Monday Danjem, Registrar, University of Jos, on Thursday told a Federal High Court in Jos that a Business Administration Diploma claimed by Mr Ibrahim Baba-Hassan, a member of the Plateau House of Assembly, is fake.
“From the university’s records, Ibrahim Baba-Hassan enrolled into a Diploma in Business Administration programme in 1994, but failed six courses and did not write them so as to complete the programme.
“He did not complete that programme and could not have obtained any certificate in 1996 as is being claimed,” Danjem explained while being cross examined by the defence counsel, Mr Solomon Umoh (SAN).
Baba-Hassan, member representing Jos North-North Constituency in Plateau House of Assembly, is standing trial over alleged forging of the university’s diploma certificate in Business Administration, which he claimed to have obtained in 1996.
The complainant in the case is Alhaji Abdul Sale, an APC member, who contested the state constituency primary elections in 2o14 and lost the party’s ticket to Baba-Hassan.
Sale is alleging that Baba-Hassan was not qualified to have contested the primary election having presented a forged certificate to INEC for clearance.
The Registrar told the court in his evidence-in-chief that the diploma certificate the lawmaker issued to INEC in 2014, while contesting for the Plateau House Assembly seat, did not emanate from the University of Jos.
Dajem said that the lawmaker failed courses during the programme, adding that there was no way the university could have issued him with a certificate.
He also told the court that even when the Nigeria Police Force wrote to the university to confirm the authenticity of the certificate, the institution wrote back “and bluntly told the Police that it did not issue the diploma certificate”.
Dajem spoke further: “On March 9, 2016, we saw a publication in Punch Newspaper claiming that the university issued Ibrahim Baba-Hassan with that diploma certificate; we found that strange and promptly countered it via a disclaimer published in the Vanguard Newspaper”.
“The University of Jos at no time issued the defender with such a certificate knowing fully well that he did not complete the course, ’’ he stated.
Again, when Umoh presented a 2000 Convocation booklet to the Prosecution witness and showed him where Baba-Hassan was issued with a B.Sc Degree in Management Science, Danjem declared that it was “only a semblance of the university’’.
“I need to compare this convocation booklet with what I have in the school before I could be convinced that it is a true copy.
“There is even a contradiction. The Degree certificate you earlier showed me claimed that Baba-Hassan had a second class lower division in 2000. But in the convocation booklet you are showing me, he obtained a third class.
“So, I need to compare this booklet with that which I have, so as to be sure if this is printed by the university,” Dajem said. ’
He explained that the university had every record about Baba-Hassan right from the time he enrolled into the university for the diploma programme, but reaffirmed that the lawmaker did not graduate and could not have been issued with a certificate after failing six courses.
Mr David Ibeawuchi, prosecution counsel and Mr Joseph Danboyi, who held brief for the APC counsel, Mr L. D. Dafar, did not re-cross examine Danjem after the defence counsel completed his task with him.
NAN reports that Umoh, on completion of his cross examination, applied for adjournment to enable him attend to some pressing personal issues.
The judge, Justice Musa Kurya, adjourned the case to Dec. 7 for continuation of hearing. (NAN)
